Folding machine



1941- c. A. NEWHALL 2,261,271

' FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 4, 1941. c. A. NEWHALL 2,261,271

FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1939- 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Nov. 4, 1941. c. A. NEWHALL FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 4, 1941.

c. A. NEWHALL 2,261,271 FOLDING MACHINE Filed June 5,- 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Illllllll'liUU Patented Nov. 4, 1941 Carl A. Newhall, Peabody, Mass.,,."assignor to United' Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J.,

Jersey a corporation "of New- Application June 5, 1939, Serial No. 2 7l"7, 4 1i6" It 13 Claims.

This invention relates to folding machines and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine for folding the margins of pieces of sheet material used in the manufacture of boots and shoes. V j

Such machines are ordinarily mounted upon a longwork-bench of standard height before which the operators are seated. It is desirable that'the operator be free to assume a comfortable position' while operating the machine and thatall of the work-engaging members of the machine be exposed to view, so that the operator may readily see the operation of each of these members in the progressive folding of the margin of the work. To this end, the work-table of the machine of the present invention is located at substantially the level of the top of the workbench, and the Work is fed across the vision of the operator and not away from the operator, as has hitherto been the case.

Parts of the uppers of shoes, particularly of the fancy womens shoes now so prevalent; are frequentlyv of very irregular shape, having in many localities sharply curved edges. In order to per-- mit the folding of the margins-along such edges, the space above the work-table is entirely unobstructed except for the work-engaging members, which project above it, and these members are arranged close together in a small space.

Theseand other features of the invention, including certain details of construction and combinations of parts, will be described as embodied in an illustrated machine and pointed out in the appended claims.

l Referring now to the accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a section on the line I-I of Fig. 6

of a machine in which the present invention is embodied, the direction of feed of the work being toward the observer;

- Fig. 2 is a plan of the machine, all of the-workengaging parts which project above the surface of the work-table, with the exception of the combined gage and preliminary bender or plow, having been omitted; I

Fig. 3 is a section of the work-table and the gage on the line III--III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section of the work-table. and the gage on the line IVIV of Fig. 2;

v Fig. 5 is a section on the line VV of Fig. 10, the'direction of feed of the work being from right to left;

' Fig. 6 is a view of the greater part of the machine looking down upon it as it appears in Fig. 5, the work-table having been removed;

particularly howv the margin. of the. workis bent. up to a predeterminedv extent by the gage and pressed down by the hammer;

Fig. 8 is a detail in perspective showing the. relativepositions of the lower feed-member and the anvil;

Fig. 9 is a detail. in perspective showing. the.

knife in process of slitting the margin of they work along a concavely curved edge;

10 Fig. 10 is a view, partly in plan and partly in section, of the machine. as it appears in Fig. 11, all the Work-engaging members except the. knife having-been omitted; V

Fig. 11 is a view of the machine, partly in 15 vertical section and partly in elevation, the direction of feed of the work being away from the observer; v t

Fig. l2 is a.detail,, partly in vertical section and partly in elevation, showing more particularly the mechanism for varying the rate. of feed of the work; t

Fig. 13 is a view,; principally in elevation of the same mechanism viewed from the right of Fig. 12;

Fig. 14 is a detail in perspective of part of ing parts;

comprises a hollow frame 21 in the form of a bench by screws 29 andprojects over the open,-

ing.. The inner edge of this annular plate is rabbeted to. receive the outer. rabbeted edge of a' work-table in' the form of a plate 3|, which is fastened to theannulanplate by screws 32.

Thework-table has' an irregularly shaped opening in its center, 'through which project the feed finger-33, theknife 35 andthe fold-presser or hammer 31. The other w'orkgengaging member which projects above the" level of the work-table Fig. 7 is a. detail in perspective showing more is the combined gageiandpl w w, this member rising from one end of a flat stem which is adjustably fastened in a recess in the Work-table by a screw 4I, said screw passing through a slot in the stem and being threaded into the worktable. The work I09 is fed toward the observer, as viewed in Fig. 1. As viewed in Fig. 5, the work is fed from right to left, the operator occupying the position of the observer in that figure.

The provision of a machine having a, worktable which is at the level of the top of the workbench enables the operator to assume a less tiring position than has hitherto been the case; and the feeding of the work in a direction across the vision of the operator overawork -table so located, and with all of the work-engaging parts clearly exposed to view, facilitates the guiding of the work by the operator and enables him to detect instantly any fault in thefolding of the work.

Referring to Fig. 5, the workis fed intermittently from right to left by the feed-finger 33 and a cooperating lower feed-member 43 (see also Fig. 8). The feed-finger descends upon the work to press it against the feed-member 43, then both these members are swung counterclockwise about the axis ofv a rod 45 to feed the work. The feed-finger then rises and the two members are swung back to repeat their cycle of movement. From the feed-member the work I90 passes to the gage 39 in the manner shown in Fig. '7. The work-engaging part of this gage comprises a portion which acts as a plow and bends up the margin of the work to form the fold and a portion which overhangs the edge of the work and, by determining the extent of the margin which is thus bent up, determines also the width of the completed fold. If the margin of the work is to be slit, for example if the fold is being made along the edge of a concave curve, as indicated in Fig. 9, this slitting is accomplished by the knife 35 which is causedto operate when desired, is located between the gage 39 and the hammer 31,- and lies close to the adjacent substantially vertical face of the gage. The work then passes to the hammer which bends down andpresses against the body portion of the work the margin which was turned up by the gage 39. An adhesive of some kind is employed which causes the folded-over margin to stick to the body portion of the work.

The lower feed-member 43 (Figs. 8 and 17) is formed at the outer end of a bent stem, the hub of which is loosely mounted on a short horizontal rod 41 which is supported by two spaced upstanding ears on a carrier 49, said carrier being mounted for oscillating movement on the rod 45. A compression spring I, located between the stem of the lower feed-member and the carrier 49, tends at all times to hold the feed-member up against the underside of one end of an anvil 53, as shown in Fig. 8. The surface of the feed member 43, which contacts with the lower surface of the anvil 53, is very slightly convex. The lower feed-member, because of the spring 5|, may yield when pressure is applied to it through the work by the feed-finger 33. The upwardly inclined stem of the feed-finger (Figs. 14 and 16) is adjustably clamped by a pinch-screw 55 in a pinchbearing formed in a small casting 51, which is also mounted for swinging movement about the small rod 41. Beneath the tail of this small casting 51 (Fig. 17) is a compression spring 59, which urges the casting to rock about the rod 41 and thus to hold the lower end of a set-screw 6|, which is threaded through the casting, in contact with the upper end of a small plunger 63, said plunger being vertically slidable in a bore in the casting 49. At the lower end of the plunger is a head which fits in a slot in the casting 49 and carries a small roll 65 in position to be engaged and lifted once for every revolution of the shaft 6'! by a small projection 69, on the rim of a rotary, otherwise flat-faced, cam H which is fast to the upper end of the shaft 61. The mechanism described above causes the feed finger to grip the work against the lower feed member and then to release it.

Between this gripping and releasing the carrier 49 is swung about the axis of the rod 45 to feed the work one step. Clamped upon the reduced cylindrical end of the carrier 49 (Figs. 12, 13, 16 and 17) by a pinch-screw II is the hub of an arm 13 having in it a segmental slot 15; and located in the slot is a small roll 11 rotatable on the smooth stem of a screw 19, said screw passing through a bore in the upper end of a link 8|, through the roll TI and being threaded into the upper end of an inclined link 83, the lower end of Which is pivoted about the stem of a screw 85. This screw carries a small roll 81, which runs on a cam surface formed on a rotary cammember 89, said cam-surface being smooth except for a raised portion 9| which acts through the link 83, once for each revolution of the cammember, to rock the slotted arm 13 in one direction about the rod 45 and then to permit the arm to be rocked in the opposite direction. The roll 81 is held against its cam-surface, and the arm I3 is consequently rocked in said opposite direction, by a compression spring 93 (Fig. 10) located in a socket in a casting 95, which (Fig. 1) is fastened by cap-screws 91 to the bottom of the receptacle 2|. The spring acts against a small block 98 (Fig. 10), which is held by the screw and has rigid with it a guide in the form of a small cylinder 99 slidable in a socket in the casting 95.

The cam-member 89 is fast to the end of an inclined shaft IOI rotatably mounted in a bearing in the casting 95, said casting also having a vertical bearing in which is rotatably mounted the upright drive shaft 61 (Fig. 1) having, near its upper end, a spiral gear I09 which meshes with a spiral gear III fast to the upper end of the inclined shaft IIlI. The drive-shaft 61 is rotated by means of a pulley I I3 from a treadle-controlled friction transmitter of the usual type, whereby the operator, by manipulating a treadle. can at any time start and stop the machine.

Returning now to Figs. 10, 12 and 13, the roll TI on the screw 19 may be moved down in the slot 15, that is away from the rod 45, to decrease the lengths of the intermittent feed movements of the feed-finger and the lower feed-member, by pulling down upon a treadle rod II5 to swing down an arm I H, the hub of which is fast to one end of a rock shaft II9, to the other end of which is fast the hub of another arm I2I, the free end of said arm I2I being pivoted to the lower end of the link 8|. The arm II! is normally held up by a spring I29 (Fig. 11) against a stop pin I23, so that the rate of feed of the work is normally at a maximum, but the operator may at any time depress a treadle, not shown, to pull down the treadle-rod H5 and thereby decrease the rate of feed. A stop-screw I22, which may be screwed into any selected one of a plurality of holes in a plate I24,serves to predetermine the extent of the intermittent feed movements when the treadle-rod H5 is pulled down.

stem of the hooked knife 35 (Fig. 9) is fastened to a hub I25, which is pinned" to one end of an inclined rock' -shaft I21 mounted in the-casting 95 (Figs. 10 and-11). Cl'amped to one end of the knife-shaft by means of a pinchscrew I 39 is one end-of an arm I3 I carrying at itsotherend, by means of a screw I33, a roll I35 which, when permitted to do so, runs upon the periphery of the cam-member 89 and descends into a depression I38 in said periphery once for every revolution of the cam-member. The arm I3I- is constantly urged downward by a tension spring I31 (Fig; 13'), which is attached at its'upper end to a small screw I39 threaded into the arm I3 I and at its lower end to a small screw- I S'I. threaded into a stationary part of the machine, these pins being shownalso in Fig. 6. The arm ISI" (Fig. 11) is normally held up so as to maintain the knife inoperative by an arm I43, the free end of which engages the underside of the outer end of the arm I3I and the hub of which is rotatable on a rock-shaft I49. 'The arm IE3] is urged upward by a tension spring I45, whichis stronger than the spring I31 and is'fastened at its lower end to a screw I46 (Fig. 13) carried by the arm I43 and at its upper end to a stationary screw I41. In order to permit the arm I43 to be swung down when desired, so as to render the knife operative, one end of the hub of, said arm (Fig. 10) has a shoulder in contact witha shoulder formed on a collar I5I, which is fastened to the rock-shaft by a set-screw I53. At one end of the rock-shaft I99 is fastened the hub of a member having two arms I55 and I51. The outer end of the arm I55 is attached by a treadle-rod, not shown, to a treadle, also not shown, by which the arm may be rocked downward; and. when it is so rocked the arm I93 is swung down to permit the roll I35 (Fig. 11) to ride into'and out of the depression I36 in the cam-member 89 and thereby to actuate the knife so as to slit the bent-up margin of the work, as shown in Fig. 9. The lower end of the treadlerod, H5, downward movement of which swings down the arm II1 to vary the rate of feed of the work, is attached to the toe-end of a treadle, not shown, to the heel-end of which is attached the lower end of the treadle-rod, not shown, the upper end of which is attached to the arm I55. Consequently, when the toe-end of this treadle is depressed, ,the'feed of. the work is retarded; and, when the heel-end of this treadle is depressed, the knife is rendered operative, the feed at this time being ata maximum determined by the position of the pin I23.

The arm I51 also has a treadle-rod, not shown, attached to it, the lower end of said rod being attached to the heel end of another treadle, not shown, depression of the toe-end of which operates the transmitter to start the machine. When the heel-end of this treadle is depressed to swing. down the arm I51, the feed-finger 33 is swung up to permit presentation of a piece of work to. the machine. To this end, the rockshaft I 39 has fast to it a hub I59 provided with an arm IIiI which, when the arm I51 is swung down, is swungfrom. right to left (Fig.1) When the arm IE1 is so swung, it swings another arm its clockwise about a small rod I95 upon which the hub of the arm IE3 is mounted, said hub carrying a projection-I61 (Fig. 14) which eng'a'ges a bevelled lug I98 on the tail of the feed.- finger-ca-rrier 51. The downward thrustof the projection I61 against the bevelled face of the lug I 98 causes twomoveme ts of the feed-finger.

spring 93,

It swings the -feed finger' carrier 51' aboutthe stud 41 toraise the feed-finger against the f'orce:

of the spring 59 (Fig. 1-7) and i-tialso causes thecarrier-block 49', upon which the stud '41 ismounted,- to swing to the right, as viewed in Fig. 16, about therod 45 against the" force ofthe: Whenthe heel-end of the treadle: rises by reasonof the depression ofthe toe-end thereof after the leading end of a piece of work' has been presented to the machine, the fee'dfinger is caused to descend upon the work by'the spring 59 andis swung back to the left (Fig. 16)" by thespring 93 to feed the work a little to the l'eft'just before power is applied tothe'machine. The anvil 53 (Fig. l) is formed at: the' upper end of an upwardly extending arm of' an ir: regularly shaped lever I69, whichis pivoted about the rod- I65 and has a tail against which bears the lower'end of acompressi'on spring I1 I, the upper end of which bears against a screw I13. The spring I'II'tends at all times to swing the lever I69 counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, the extent of this movement being limited by a stop-screw I15 which lies in thepath of an arm on said lever and is threaded into a collar I16 fastened to thegrod I-5, InFig. 1; the anvil is shown in the position which it occupies when a piece of work is in the machine, the this is-why the last-named arm of the lever I69 is not in contact with thestop-screw I15. 1 3

The work-engaging portion of thehammer shaped groove in its face to aid in plaiting the work along a convexly curved margin and is fastened by a screw to a bent stem, whichterminates in a rock-shaft I19. This rock-shaft (Figs. 5 and v11'), whose axis lies in a vertical plane which is parallel to the direction of feed movement of the work, is mounted in an inclined bearing in a part of the casting and has fastened on its outer end by a pinch bolt IBI a short arm I83, the extremity of which is pivoted by a screw I84 one end of. a toggle-link I85, the other end of which is pivoted about the axis of a screw I81. is pivoted at its upper end about the axis of the screw I81 and at its'lower. end about the axis of a screw I9I, which isthreaded into the outer end of a bracket I93 bolted to the casting 95. The toggle mechanism is broken and, straightened to c ause oscillation of the hammer-shaft; I19 by a link I95, the upper end of which is pivoted about the axis of the sc rew I31 and the lower end of which is pivoted about the stem of a screw I91 threaded into the outer face of the cam member 89.,

In a folding machine having. a gage or similar member past which the work is fed, such gage exerts a pull or drag'upon the unfolded margin of the work in a direction opposite to that in which the work is being fed; and this drag tends to the production of finished work which is more or less distorted or curled,,this being particularly true, for example, when narrow straps are folded. In the present machine the pull or, drag is counteracted by the action of the hammer The other toggle-link I89 the work-bench from which the machine is suspended, and the operator is seated before the bench and occupies the position of the observer in Fig. 5, the Work being fed from right to left. Due to this construction, the operator has at all times a clear view of the operationof the workengaging parts and can at all times properly guide the work. Since these work-engaging parts occupy a small space and are the only portions of the machine which project above the surface of the work-table, the operator may readily fold the work when sharply curved edges are encountered. In the case of sharply curved concave edges, the difficulty is to be able to follow the curve-that is, to swing the work about a small radius without encountering any obstruction. In the case of sharply convex curved edges, the difficulty is to have the hammer so arranged that it will strike the work and press the fold. With the present construction in which only the work-engaging parts are above the level of the table and are located close together in the manner shown, both these difliculties are obviated.

Although the invention has been set forth as embodied in a particular machine, it should be understood that the invention is not limited in the scope of its application to the particular machine which has been shown and described.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for supporting the receptacle beneath the top of a Work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as a work-table the upper surface of said table being substantially fiush with the upper surface of the work-bench and having an opening therein, work-engaging members including a feed-finger, a knife and a hammer extending up through the opening, and mechanism located entirely beneath the work-table and within the receptacle for operating said work-engaging parts.

2. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for supporting the receptacle beneath the top of a work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as ing substantially flush with the upper surface of the work-bench and having an opening therein, work-engaging members including a feed-finger, a knife and a hammer extending up through the opening, and mechanism located entirely beneath the Work-table and within the receptacle for operating said work-engaging parts, said mechanism including an inclined rock-shaft at the upper end of which the hammer is carried.

3. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for supporting the receptacle beneath the top of a Work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as a work-table the upper surface of said table being substantially flush with the upper surface of the work-bench and having an opening therein, work-engaging members including a feed-finger, a knife and a hammer extending up through the opening, and mechanism located entirely beneath the work-table and within the receptacle for operating said work-engaging parts, said mechanism including an inclined rock-shaft at the upper end of which the knife is carried.

4. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for suspending the receptacle from the top of a work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as a worktable, being substantially flush with the upper surface of the work-bench and having an opening therein, work-engaging members including a feed-finger, a knife and a hammer extending up through the opening, a casting rigidly fastened to and located within the receptacle, and mechanism mounted in the casting for operating the work-engaging members.

5. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for suspending the receptacle from the top of a work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as a worktable, being substantially flush with the upper surface of the work-bench and having an opening therein, work-engaging members including a feed-finger, a knife and a hammer extending up through the opening, a casting rigidly fastened to and located within the receptacle, and mechanism mounted in the casting for operating the work-engaging members, said mechanism including a vertical drive shaft, a counter-shaft, a knife-shaft and a hammer-shaft, the three latter shafts being inclined.

6. A folding machine having in combination, a frame in the form of a receptacle adapted to contain a supply of oil, means for supporting the receptacle beneath the top of a work-bench, a cover for the receptacle, said cover serving as a work-table the upper surface of which is substantially flush with the upper surface of the work-bench, a plurality of work-engaging members projecting up through an opening in the table, a casting fastened inside the receptacle, and mechanism located entirely within the receptacle and supported by the casting for operating said work-engaging parts the entire space above the surface of the table, except for the work-engaging members, being free and unobstructed to permit the work to be turned freely.

7. A folding machine having in combination, a work-table having an opening therein, means for feeding the work over the table and for bending up the margin thereof to form the fold, and a hammer projecting up through the opening for a work-table the upper surface of said table bep essi the fold, an inclined a t p the upper end of which the hammer is mounted, and mechanism located beneath the table for rocking the shaft to cause the hammer on its pressing stroke to move both downwardly and in the direction of feed movement of the work.

8. A folding machine having in combination, a, work-table having an opening therein, means for feeding the work over the table and for bending up the margin thereof to form the fold, and a hammer projecting up through the opening for pressing the fold, an inclined rock-shaft upon the upper end of which the hammer is mounted, and mechanism located beneath the table for rocking the shaft to cause the hammer on its pressing stroke to move both downwardly and in the direction of feed movement of the work, said mechanism comprising a toggle and means for straightening and breaking the toggle.

9. A folding machine having in combination, a work-table having an opening therein, workfeeding, fold-forming and fold-pressing instrumentalities, a knife projecting through the opening, an inclined rock-shaft upon the upper end of which the knife is mounted, and means located beneath the table for rocking the shaft,

10. A folding machine having in combination, a work-table having an opening therein, workfeeding, fold-forming and fold-pressing instrumentalities, a knife projecting through the opening, an inclined rock-shaft upon the upper end of which the knife is mounted, and means located beneath the table for rocking the shaft, said means comprising an arm fast to the lower end of the shaft and a cam for rocking the arm.

11. A folding machine having in combination, a work-table having an opening therein, a feedfinger, a knife and a hammer all of which project up through the opening, an inclined rock-shaft upon the upper end'of which the knife is mounted, a second inclined rock-shaft upon which the hammer is mounted, a thirdinclined shaft, all three shafts being located beneath the table, means for rotating the third shaft, and means for causing said third shaft to rock the other two shafts and the feed-finger.

12. A folding machine having in combination, a work-table, work-feeding, fold-forming and fold-pressing instrumentalities, said. instrumentalities including a co-operating feed-finger and lower feed-member, and a cooperating hammer and anvil, means for holding the hammer and anvil from movement in the direction of feed movement of the work, and yielding means for holding a portion of the lower feed-member up against the under face of the anvil.

13. A folding machine having in combination a work-table provided with an opening, a stationary gage having an operative portion rising above the surface of the table over the opening, said gage being shaped to bend up the margin of a piece of work fed past it, a lower feed member and an anvil both extending from below up into the opening, a feed finger cooperating with the lower feed member to feed the work past the stationary gage so as to bend up the margin of the work, a hammer cooperating with the anvil, 

